Biffle wins, Johnson goes atop Chase standings

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Greg Biffle is back in the title hunt, and Jimmie Johnson has resumed his normal spot atop the NASCAR leader board.

Kansas Speedway once again played a major role in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, which got a whole lot tighter after a fast-paced race Sunday dominated by the title contenders.

Biffle was the first of seven in the Chase to cross the finish line, pulling himself out of a deep hole with seven races remaining to determine the championship.

"Everybody asked us if we're out of the Chase, have we given up?" the Roush-Fenway Racing driver said. "The 16 team will never give up."

Nine drivers left Kansas separated by 101 points. It's the closest the Chase has been after three races since NASCAR switched to the format in 2004.

But there's another telling stat that could mean trouble for everyone besides Johnson and Denny Hamlin: Only once in Chase history has the eventual champion been ranked lower than second after Kansas. Who was that? Johnson, who rallied from eighth in points after Kansas in 2006 to win the first of his four consecutive titles.

And here he is again, rallying from as low as 21st midway through the race to finish second behind Biffle. He now has an eight-point lead over Hamlin headed into next weekend's race at California, where four of his five career victories have come in the last six visits there.

Hamlin had his first off race of the Chase. He struggled mightily early in the race, but his adjustments were good enough for only a 12th-place finish, and Hamlin's 35-point lead before the race began turned into an eight-point deficit heading to California.

Kyle Busch had early contact with David Reutimann that caused Reutimann to spin, and when they crossed paths later on the track, Reutimann appeared to intentionally knock him into the wall.

Busch was running seventh at the time of the accident, fell to 22nd and demanded over his radio that NASCAR take action against Reutimann. Crew chief Dave Rogers heightened the drama by telling Busch that Reutimann's team demanded he retaliate against Busch.